Hospital groups fail to turn NY Republicans against AHCA

NYC H+H to invest $289M in revenue-cycle software

NYC Health + Hospitals said Thursday it will invest $289 million over the next five years to adopt new revenue-cycle management software from Epic.

The system will "pay for itself in a couple of years," Stanley Brezenoff, the health system's interim president and chief executive, said in a statement.

The update is expected to allow the health system to collect an additional $142 million annually, accounting for about 5% of revenue from patient services. The city will contribute $150 million in capital funds to pay for the new system, and the remaining $139 million will come out of the health system's operating costs, once approved by its board.

The revenue-cycle technology will be integrated with the Epic electronic health records system NYC Health + Hospitals began rolling out last April, with the full integrated platform expected to be finished by the end of 2020. The health system delayed the second phase of its $764 million medical records overhaul by several months, Healthcare IT News reported in February.—C.L.

South Nassau deal makes LI network's future uncertain

As South Nassau Communities Hospital negotiates an affiliation agreement with Mount Sinai Health System, the Long Island Health Network could lose a second founding member.

The group collectively negotiates with managed-care companies, securing better rates for its 10 participant hospitals. Winthrop-University Hospital told Crain's in October that it would pull out of the network, after it agreed to join NYU Langone Medical Center.

But Richard Murphy, president and chief executive of South Nassau, left the door open to working out an arrangement with the health network. He said the group's efforts to improve hospital quality has been beneficial to all members.

"That's a question we'll have to work out with Mount Sinai," Murphy said.

The network also includes the six hospitals that comprise Catholic Health Services of Long Island. The other members are Brookhaven Memorial Hospital Medical Center in Patchogue and John T. Mather Memorial Hospital in Port Jefferson. If South Nassau successfully concludes its affiliation deal with Mount Sinai, they would be the only two remaining independent hospitals on Long Island.

"It seems to be a foregone conclusion that community hospitals will no longer be freestanding entities for the most part," said Kevin Dahill, president of the Nassau-Suffolk Hospital Council.

"It's difficult to see whether [LIHN] will continue with these paradigm shifts occurring. It's too early to call," he added.—J.L.

Hispanics have less insurance but slightly better health

In the New York metro area, Hispanics are about four times as likely as whites to be uninsured, and whites are about 1.7 times as likely to have private health insurance—a gap in access to health care that aligns with the disparities seen in the U.S. as a whole. Yet Hispanics in this country also live longer and have lower death rates related to cancer, heart disease and stroke, according to the 2017 National Equality Index, a report released this week by the National Urban League.

The report measures how Hispanics and blacks are doing in relation to economics, social justice, health, education and civic engagement when compared with whites. Overall, Hispanics received a better score on health than whites, despite doing worse on certain measures such as obesity and diabetes.

The report did not include individual health measures at the local level. A 2016 report on health disparities in New York from the state Health Department also found that Hispanics are less likely to die from certain types of cancer, stroke and heart disease, and more likely to suffer from obesity and diabetes. However, the state report found that Hispanics are the group second most likely to die prematurely, behind blacks. —C.L.

AT A GLANCE

WHO'S NEWS: Roger Cohen, an attorney who represents health care, life sciences and health care IT clients, has joined law firm Goodwin's life sciences and private equity practices as a partner in the New York office. He previously worked at Proskauer, where he practiced in its health care group.

Elena Quevedo has been named senior vice president of advancement at the New Jewish Home, where she will oversee development, marketing and communications. She was previously director of advancement and planned giving at the New York City Ballet.

HIGH-RISK: Kaiser Health News offered a video primer on the pitfalls of high-risk pools, a key component of the House version of the American Health Care Act that passed by a slim margin on Thursday.

Hospital groups fail to turn NY Republicans against AHCA

The U.S. House of Representatives narrowly passed a plan to replace the Affordable Care Act Thursday afternoon with the support of seven New York lawmakers, who were unswayed by appeals from the state's hospital trade groups to vote against the measure.

Rep. Dan Donovan, who represents Staten Island and parts of southwest Brooklyn, voted against the American Health Care Act as did Rep. John Katko, whose district includes Syracuse.

But the other seven Republicans, including Long Island Reps. Peter King and Lee Zeldin, helped advance the AHCA to the Senate, where it needs the support of 50 of the 52 Republican senators.

In March, Bea Grause, president of the Healthcare Association of New York State, said her group was working to convince upstate Republicans, including Reps. Elise Stefanik and Claudia Tenney, to oppose the bill. Ultimately, they both supported the AHCA. Stefanik, who represents the North Country region, said Thursday the AHCA "is not perfect, but is an important step in reforming our broken health care system."

In an interview, Grause said of the passage: "It's politics over policy. They needed a victory. It's a terrible bill for New York."

HANYS and the Greater New York Hospital Association unsuccessfully made the case to upstate Republicans that the American Health Care Act would result in less Medicaid funding to upstate hospitals, which are often major employers.

"What will those who voted for the AHCA say to their constituents when the AHCA causes health care jobs in their districts to disappear?" GNYHA president Kenneth Raske said in a statement.

The American Health Care Act would cut taxes by about $880 billion, including elimination of the mandates that larger companies provide affordable health benefits and individuals buy their own insurance. It replaces Obamacare's system of income-based tax credits to buy health insurance with credits based on age.

Federal spending on Medicaid would be reduced by about $880 billion nationwide and about 24 million people would lose coverage during the next 10 years, according to a Congressional Budget Office analysis of an earlier version of the bill.

A recent amendment to the bill allows states to waive certain Affordable Care Act rules, such as the requirement that all plans cover essential health benefits. States could also waive the community rating provision that prevents insurers from charging members different amounts based on their medical histories.

Paul Macielak, president of the state Health Plan Association, issued a neutral statement Thursday, which called on state leaders to "protect market stability" as insurers prepare to file 2018 premium rates.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo estimated the AHCA would result in a $6.9 billion impact to the state Medicaid budget, including a $2.3 billion shift of Medicaid costs from counties to the state as part of an amendment drafted by Reps. Chris Collins and John Faso.

"The Republican plan will strip millions of Americans of their coverage, raise costs for the sick, the elderly, and those with pre-existing conditions, and penalize progressive states that protect the rights of women," Cuomo said in a statement.—J.L.

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